Showing posts with label goa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goa. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2014
Friday, July 2, 2010
Limca Book of Records Quiz 2010
City: Goa
Date: July 2, 2010
Venue: Don Bosco High School, Panaji, Near Panaji Municipal Market, Goa – 403001
Reporting time: 9:30 am
Thursday, April 8, 2010
A bit of BITS flavour for SEQC
The raucous, boisterous and fractious contingent from BITS Pilani (Goa campus – incidentally, why is this institution defined by the location of its parent body?Why not just BITS, Goa, like IIT followed by the place the particular IIT is located?) has added much colour, quality and chaos in the past few months that it has been attending SEQC quizzes.
For the April monthly SEQC quiz, the BITS gang was there in strength, and as usual made a big impact on the quiz, having among their numbers many good quizzers. And – wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles – their fractiousness was firmly in check, with no complex arguments over every decision by the QM. They have clearly accepted the spirit of SEQC – while we all quiz to win, it’s just a game, and the main point is to enjoy oneself! Besides, the quizmaster this time round was a BITSian himself, Ajachi Chakraborti, who maintained discipline with a firm hand, probably using tricks gleaned from watching his teachers at BITS in action.
Coming to the quizzing action itself, Ajachi provided an excellent quiz, with 60 questions, divided into groups of 30 each, with each group having its own theme-based connect. The questions were interesting, sometimes fascinating, and a good time was had by all. Both the themes were cleverly devised – logical, without being obvious. There was some patchiness in the quiz, with a few questions being absolute sitters. For example, the answer to the question about Alberto Fujimori, which covered the whole of a slide in fine print, was obvious by line 3.
But those are minor quibbles about what, by popular acclaim, a superb quiz. Ajachi said that he had devised it in 3 days, a claim that one is advised to take with a bucketful of salt. Okay, maybe he actually put it together in 3 days, given that his computer got fried on April Fools’ Day, but many of the questions must have been simmering in his head for some time.
The competition was sharp, and fortunes fluctuated throughout the evening. Team 6 managed to overcome the huge handicap imposed by the presence of Aniruddha Sen Gupta and triumphed convincingly, much to the credit of the other team members who had to cope with this particular albatross round their necks. There was a dead heat between two teams for second place, and the other teams followed close behind.
The young quizzers in SEQC have been put in a sterling performance as QMs – the quizzes by Amit Shet, Navin Pai, Srikant Subramaniam and now Ajachi were all very good – and the old fogeys in SEQC better put in some effort if they are not to be completely overshadowed. That the said ofs are feeling the heat is clear from the fact that monstrous Annie, who is the QM for the May monthly (the closing monthly of SEQC year 2009-10), has promised to deliver a ‘monster’ quiz. We can hardly wait, Annie – bring it on!
Meanwhile, as we move into the last lap of SEQC year 2, Annie has for the first time got his nose ahead of Rajiv on the leaderboard. Maybe this year Annie will be the champion, rather than Rajiv doing a repeat? This two-horse race is going to be a contest worth watching.
For the April monthly SEQC quiz, the BITS gang was there in strength, and as usual made a big impact on the quiz, having among their numbers many good quizzers. And – wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles – their fractiousness was firmly in check, with no complex arguments over every decision by the QM. They have clearly accepted the spirit of SEQC – while we all quiz to win, it’s just a game, and the main point is to enjoy oneself! Besides, the quizmaster this time round was a BITSian himself, Ajachi Chakraborti, who maintained discipline with a firm hand, probably using tricks gleaned from watching his teachers at BITS in action.
Coming to the quizzing action itself, Ajachi provided an excellent quiz, with 60 questions, divided into groups of 30 each, with each group having its own theme-based connect. The questions were interesting, sometimes fascinating, and a good time was had by all. Both the themes were cleverly devised – logical, without being obvious. There was some patchiness in the quiz, with a few questions being absolute sitters. For example, the answer to the question about Alberto Fujimori, which covered the whole of a slide in fine print, was obvious by line 3.
But those are minor quibbles about what, by popular acclaim, a superb quiz. Ajachi said that he had devised it in 3 days, a claim that one is advised to take with a bucketful of salt. Okay, maybe he actually put it together in 3 days, given that his computer got fried on April Fools’ Day, but many of the questions must have been simmering in his head for some time.
The competition was sharp, and fortunes fluctuated throughout the evening. Team 6 managed to overcome the huge handicap imposed by the presence of Aniruddha Sen Gupta and triumphed convincingly, much to the credit of the other team members who had to cope with this particular albatross round their necks. There was a dead heat between two teams for second place, and the other teams followed close behind.
The young quizzers in SEQC have been put in a sterling performance as QMs – the quizzes by Amit Shet, Navin Pai, Srikant Subramaniam and now Ajachi were all very good – and the old fogeys in SEQC better put in some effort if they are not to be completely overshadowed. That the said ofs are feeling the heat is clear from the fact that monstrous Annie, who is the QM for the May monthly (the closing monthly of SEQC year 2009-10), has promised to deliver a ‘monster’ quiz. We can hardly wait, Annie – bring it on!
Meanwhile, as we move into the last lap of SEQC year 2, Annie has for the first time got his nose ahead of Rajiv on the leaderboard. Maybe this year Annie will be the champion, rather than Rajiv doing a repeat? This two-horse race is going to be a contest worth watching.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Navin chweetly rocks SEQC
Putting together a quiz that 'rocks' -- to use Ameya's phrase -- is not easy. You need to put in something for everybody, to make sure that you grab your audience. The questions must be at the right level of difficulty: challenging without being incomprehensible. And at the end of it, one should feel that one has learnt something. If you can get the 'A-ha' factor in, you're certainly rocking. And if you have what was probably the highest number of participants ever for a SEQC monthly, and if they give you the thumbs up... well, you're in QM heaven.
In SEQC we have been very fortunate, with QMs like Annie, Rajiv and Harsh providing top-class treats, and the newer QMs dishing out groovy fare as well. But one of the very best SEQC quizzes, IMHO, was the one provided by cho-chweet Navin Pai, one of our younger members, on Sunday, 3 January 2010.
On all the above-mentioned counts, Navin scored high, setting a high bar for others to aim at. The questions were challenging, and when some answers were provided, people said, "Wow" -- for example, the first question on TASER (Navin was confident enough about this deceptively easy-looking question to write 'gotcha' on the slide) and the question on henna. For many of the questions, you felt that you knew the answer but didn't come close (TASER qualifies on this count too, as does 'Les Horribles Cernettes').
Great going, Navin, and we expect to see more of you in your QM avatar!
Okay, now that I've got all this rubbish out of the way, let's cut to the chase and start grouching. One wishes that our young QMs would conduct their quizzes standing up -- it makes things go better, as well as being more respectful to the audience. Also, turkeys like the connect about Star TV channels should be directed to Arul Mani for inclusion in Go Ogle and not inflicted on SEQC. Furthermore, QMs -- if male -- must dress properly, with a suit and tie and well-polished shoes.
(The remaining 3000 words of this grouch will be posted when I have time. While I write it, searching for suitably scathing remarks to put young upstart Navin properly in his place, go and try the quiz.)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wait until dark -- and then there was light...
Annie, as expected, provided a rare quizzing treat on the evening of 18 December 2009 at the Goa Open Quiz. Meant for teams of two members, it was truly an ‘open’ quiz – age, sex, caste, creed, religion no bar.
The quiz itself was a cracker (see for yourself), and the lawns of the International Centre in Dona Paula provided a pleasant setting. There was a glitch about the schedule – due to being held in the open air, the quiz could not start till the sun went down, due to projection problems. So we actually began only at 6pm. But after that it was two hours of pure fun, with Annie shedding light on some interesting nuggets of information, presented in an innovative manner.
Sixteen teams took part, a rather small number, but these teams really battled it out in the prelims, leaving six teams to go through to the finals.
The finals had five rounds – straight questions, buzzer rounds (which would pass if no buzz or wrong answer), a theme round, etc. All very exciting fare. One problem though was that since the quiz was done by the ‘infinite bounds’ system, the buzzer rounds passed a little chaotically. But then Annie always experiments, and sometimes the experiments don’t go perfectly, but there’s always something new...
The winners were, inevitably, Rajiv D’Silva & Harshavardhan Bhatkuly – by the inevitable wide margin. Drastic measures will have to be taken if this team is ever to be defeated. I have procured some voodoo dolls and am busy sticking pins in them – everybody is invited to contribute their mite.
In second and third place were two young teams – Joshua Fernandes & Nathan Fernandez in second and Amit Shet & Suraj Kamat in third. Let’s hope this trend continues and middle-aged fogies are knocked into the dustbin of history, where they rightfully belong.
Nandini Sahai, Director of ICG, was a gracious host, and kindly offered ICG as a venue for other SEQC quizzing events in future, an offer that will certainly be taken up, with the Mastermind semi-finals slated to be held there. Broadway Bookstore generously provided the prizes.
The quiz itself was a cracker (see for yourself), and the lawns of the International Centre in Dona Paula provided a pleasant setting. There was a glitch about the schedule – due to being held in the open air, the quiz could not start till the sun went down, due to projection problems. So we actually began only at 6pm. But after that it was two hours of pure fun, with Annie shedding light on some interesting nuggets of information, presented in an innovative manner.
Sixteen teams took part, a rather small number, but these teams really battled it out in the prelims, leaving six teams to go through to the finals.
The finals had five rounds – straight questions, buzzer rounds (which would pass if no buzz or wrong answer), a theme round, etc. All very exciting fare. One problem though was that since the quiz was done by the ‘infinite bounds’ system, the buzzer rounds passed a little chaotically. But then Annie always experiments, and sometimes the experiments don’t go perfectly, but there’s always something new...
The winners were, inevitably, Rajiv D’Silva & Harshavardhan Bhatkuly – by the inevitable wide margin. Drastic measures will have to be taken if this team is ever to be defeated. I have procured some voodoo dolls and am busy sticking pins in them – everybody is invited to contribute their mite.
In second and third place were two young teams – Joshua Fernandes & Nathan Fernandez in second and Amit Shet & Suraj Kamat in third. Let’s hope this trend continues and middle-aged fogies are knocked into the dustbin of history, where they rightfully belong.
Nandini Sahai, Director of ICG, was a gracious host, and kindly offered ICG as a venue for other SEQC quizzing events in future, an offer that will certainly be taken up, with the Mastermind semi-finals slated to be held there. Broadway Bookstore generously provided the prizes.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Case of the Crazy Quizzer
The outbreak of quizzing in Goa has given rise to grave concern in the highest circles. Sherlock Holmes (assisted, as usual, by the redoubtable Dr Watson) was called in to tackle the problem. For more details, click here...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
"Goa mein quizzing bhi hota hai kya?"
Herald, 10 September 2008
by Vidyadhar Gadgil
Big-ticket quizzing finally arrived in Goa with a regional round of the renowned Tata Crucible Quiz being held at the NIO auditorium on a wet monsoon evening on 10 August 2008. Over 20 teams participated in the preliminary round, with six – Savoir Faire, HLL, Betts India, Splash Communications, Cajetan Vaz Consulting and Synapse – qualifying for the final round on stage. Savoir Faire won, by a wide margin, bagging the first prize of Rs 75,000 and qualifying for the national finals. Synapse came in second and took home the prize of Rs 35,000.
The victory of the Savoir Faire team of Harshavardhan Bhatkuly and Rajiv D’Silva came as no surprise, given their enviable record at the national level. They won the regional finals of the Brand Equity Quiz at Pune in 2006 and 2007, as well as the regional finals of the Tata Crucible Quiz in 2007. In the 2007 national finals of both these quizzes, they came a narrow second to the team from Deutsche Bank.
Harsh and Rajiv are an unassuming pair and wear their success lightly, though they could be pardoned for blushing a pretty red when the quizmaster at the Tata Crucible Quiz, Giri Balasubramaniam aka ‘Pickbrain’, said that it was the track record of Savoir Faire that prompted Tata Crucible to include Goa in its list of venues for regional rounds this year. He went on to say that the reason that teams from other parts of the country did not venture to try their luck in Goa (which is permitted by the rules of the contest) was probably that they did not want to pit their wits against this formidable team!
“I’ve been actively involved in quizzing since my college days,” says Harsh “but it was participation in the Wiz Biz quiz organised by the Goa Institute of Management that got me seriously hooked. Some time later, I met Rajiv and we became partners in a media firm that we set up. He’s another quizzing brain, and we were able to notch up a long winning spree at Wiz Biz.”
Rajiv continues, “By then, we got ambitious – nay, audacious – and decided to take a leap at the national scene. We went to Pune to participate at the Brand Equity quiz in 2004. Among the seasoned quizzers of TCS, Infosys, Thermax, Renaissance and a host of 40 other teams, an unlikely Goan duo qualified on stage.”
Though they only came in third that time, and the next, 2006 was the breakthrough year, when they won the regional finals in Pune. In 2007 their reputation was established when they won the Pune regional finals of both the Brand Equity Quiz and the Tata Crucible Quiz. In both these quizzes they came a narrow second to the team from Deutsche Bank in the national finals.
Are they going to win the nationals this time? “Let’s see,” says Harsh, “we’re keeping our fingers crossed.” So are we, and maybe this year will see a Goan team winning the national finals of one of these prestigious quizzes. “It’s been a long journey since the time quizmaster Derek O’Brien mockingly asked, ‘Goa mein quizzing bhi hota hai kya?’ in Pune in 2004,” reminisces Rajiv. Well, that is certainly a thing of the past due to the efforts of Savoir Faire.
What about the overall quizzing scenario in Goa? “Quizzing interest in Goa is sporadic,” says Harsh, “with quizzes conducted by the Rotary, Lions Club, etc. Then there are the various quizzes organised by colleges and schools. But quizzing is a 365-day affair and can’t be viewed in isolation. Consequently there is an utter lack of quizzing culture in Goa.” Rajiv adds, “We also want to inculcate a quizzing culture, especially among students with the Monginis Quiz. There is a lot of enthusiasm at the school level but this wanes by the college level.”
One initiative on which the duo are pinning much hope is the Sunday Evening Quiz Club (SEQC) started a few months ago. “We got together with a few other quizzing enthusiasts and started this once-a-month Sunday evening quizzing event. Basically it’s a mix of people seriously involved in quizzing along with some enthusiastic newcomers and with this we hope to take quizzing in Goa to a new level.”
According to Harsh, what has made things easier for quizzing enthusiasts is the advent of popular shows like Kaun Banega Karodpati? and Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain? “These shows have brought quizzing into people’s drawing rooms, which is a good thing. Quizzing is no longer seen as an esoteric pastime. One problem, though, is that the prizes are given too much importance. Of course, money is great, I love it too, but that is hardly the primary purpose of quizzing. Mastermind India, the most prestigious quiz of all, had a negligible amount as prize money, but I’d much rather have their trophy adorning my mantelpiece than all the money from more popular shows!”
One of the members of SEQC is Aniruddha Sen Gupta, who had been a semi-finalist in Mastermind India. “There is a totally intellectual, nerdy tag that is attached to quizzes, which is misplaced. It probably dates from the time when most quizzes took place on radio, like the grandfather of them all, the Bournvita Quiz Contest. But now technology has made it possible to have more innovative quizzes, with use of audio, video and graphics. Also, good quizmasters devise quizzes where you work out the answers. Due to corporate sponsorship there has been a proliferation of business quizzes. This is a good thing,” says Aniruddha, “but corporates need to be more open about sponsoring general quizzes.” Aniruddha, along with some friends, has a group called Quizvaddo, which has organised quizzes for schools and clubs in Goa.
With Savoir Faire having made a splash on the national scene, and a variety of initiatives planned for Goa by various enthusiasts, quizzing in Goa is set to look up, and it will not be long before some other teams from Goa are rubbing shoulders with Savoir Faire at the national level, making Goa a name to reckon with in quizzing.
by Vidyadhar Gadgil
Big-ticket quizzing finally arrived in Goa with a regional round of the renowned Tata Crucible Quiz being held at the NIO auditorium on a wet monsoon evening on 10 August 2008. Over 20 teams participated in the preliminary round, with six – Savoir Faire, HLL, Betts India, Splash Communications, Cajetan Vaz Consulting and Synapse – qualifying for the final round on stage. Savoir Faire won, by a wide margin, bagging the first prize of Rs 75,000 and qualifying for the national finals. Synapse came in second and took home the prize of Rs 35,000.
The victory of the Savoir Faire team of Harshavardhan Bhatkuly and Rajiv D’Silva came as no surprise, given their enviable record at the national level. They won the regional finals of the Brand Equity Quiz at Pune in 2006 and 2007, as well as the regional finals of the Tata Crucible Quiz in 2007. In the 2007 national finals of both these quizzes, they came a narrow second to the team from Deutsche Bank.
Harsh and Rajiv are an unassuming pair and wear their success lightly, though they could be pardoned for blushing a pretty red when the quizmaster at the Tata Crucible Quiz, Giri Balasubramaniam aka ‘Pickbrain’, said that it was the track record of Savoir Faire that prompted Tata Crucible to include Goa in its list of venues for regional rounds this year. He went on to say that the reason that teams from other parts of the country did not venture to try their luck in Goa (which is permitted by the rules of the contest) was probably that they did not want to pit their wits against this formidable team!
“I’ve been actively involved in quizzing since my college days,” says Harsh “but it was participation in the Wiz Biz quiz organised by the Goa Institute of Management that got me seriously hooked. Some time later, I met Rajiv and we became partners in a media firm that we set up. He’s another quizzing brain, and we were able to notch up a long winning spree at Wiz Biz.”
Rajiv continues, “By then, we got ambitious – nay, audacious – and decided to take a leap at the national scene. We went to Pune to participate at the Brand Equity quiz in 2004. Among the seasoned quizzers of TCS, Infosys, Thermax, Renaissance and a host of 40 other teams, an unlikely Goan duo qualified on stage.”
Though they only came in third that time, and the next, 2006 was the breakthrough year, when they won the regional finals in Pune. In 2007 their reputation was established when they won the Pune regional finals of both the Brand Equity Quiz and the Tata Crucible Quiz. In both these quizzes they came a narrow second to the team from Deutsche Bank in the national finals.
Are they going to win the nationals this time? “Let’s see,” says Harsh, “we’re keeping our fingers crossed.” So are we, and maybe this year will see a Goan team winning the national finals of one of these prestigious quizzes. “It’s been a long journey since the time quizmaster Derek O’Brien mockingly asked, ‘Goa mein quizzing bhi hota hai kya?’ in Pune in 2004,” reminisces Rajiv. Well, that is certainly a thing of the past due to the efforts of Savoir Faire.
What about the overall quizzing scenario in Goa? “Quizzing interest in Goa is sporadic,” says Harsh, “with quizzes conducted by the Rotary, Lions Club, etc. Then there are the various quizzes organised by colleges and schools. But quizzing is a 365-day affair and can’t be viewed in isolation. Consequently there is an utter lack of quizzing culture in Goa.” Rajiv adds, “We also want to inculcate a quizzing culture, especially among students with the Monginis Quiz. There is a lot of enthusiasm at the school level but this wanes by the college level.”
One initiative on which the duo are pinning much hope is the Sunday Evening Quiz Club (SEQC) started a few months ago. “We got together with a few other quizzing enthusiasts and started this once-a-month Sunday evening quizzing event. Basically it’s a mix of people seriously involved in quizzing along with some enthusiastic newcomers and with this we hope to take quizzing in Goa to a new level.”
According to Harsh, what has made things easier for quizzing enthusiasts is the advent of popular shows like Kaun Banega Karodpati? and Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain? “These shows have brought quizzing into people’s drawing rooms, which is a good thing. Quizzing is no longer seen as an esoteric pastime. One problem, though, is that the prizes are given too much importance. Of course, money is great, I love it too, but that is hardly the primary purpose of quizzing. Mastermind India, the most prestigious quiz of all, had a negligible amount as prize money, but I’d much rather have their trophy adorning my mantelpiece than all the money from more popular shows!”
One of the members of SEQC is Aniruddha Sen Gupta, who had been a semi-finalist in Mastermind India. “There is a totally intellectual, nerdy tag that is attached to quizzes, which is misplaced. It probably dates from the time when most quizzes took place on radio, like the grandfather of them all, the Bournvita Quiz Contest. But now technology has made it possible to have more innovative quizzes, with use of audio, video and graphics. Also, good quizmasters devise quizzes where you work out the answers. Due to corporate sponsorship there has been a proliferation of business quizzes. This is a good thing,” says Aniruddha, “but corporates need to be more open about sponsoring general quizzes.” Aniruddha, along with some friends, has a group called Quizvaddo, which has organised quizzes for schools and clubs in Goa.
With Savoir Faire having made a splash on the national scene, and a variety of initiatives planned for Goa by various enthusiasts, quizzing in Goa is set to look up, and it will not be long before some other teams from Goa are rubbing shoulders with Savoir Faire at the national level, making Goa a name to reckon with in quizzing.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
SEQC Quiz 4 Results
A record 23 quizzers participated in Quiz 4, including one who came all the way from Bangalore just for the quiz! As it turned out, Chirag found the travel well worth his while as he and his teammates Pravin, Luis & Renuka stormed their way to an emphatic win.
The next quiz will be conducted by Ameya Mardolkar on the 5th of October. Watch this space for details.
Here are the complete results:
1st - Chirag Mutgi, Pravin Sabnis, Luis Dias & Renuka Figueiredo (130 pts)
2nd - Anjali Sen Gupta, Sunil Sardessai & Vidyadhar Gadgil (110 pts)
3rd - Chryselle Dias, Tallulah D'Silva, C. G. Nitash & Janice Figueiredo (100 pts)
4th - Anniruddha Sen Gupta, Mariette Correa, C. G. Niyati & Deepika Figueiredo (80 pts)
5th - Ameya Mardolkar, Savio Figueiredo, P. D. Mukherjee & Subbu Nayak (70 pts)
6th - Harshvardhan Bhatkuly, Soraya Mukherjee & Susheela Mendonca(60 pts)
The league table after four quizzes looks like this, with Annie, Nitash & Gadgil all tied for top spot...
The next quiz will be conducted by Ameya Mardolkar on the 5th of October. Watch this space for details.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tata Crucible Goa - Pictures
The scene at the NIO Auditorium - Goa's first big-ticket quiz! 
Annie & Anjali make a Splash! 
Rajiv & Harsh pick up the winner's moolah 
Sirish & Maneesha of Synapse receive the Runner-up prize
The audience that braved the wettest day of the year to turn up. (Including a nattily-dressed Gadgil, seen if you zoom in real close) Monday, August 11, 2008
Rajiv and Hash provide some savvy fare
SEQC put up a super showing at Goa's inaugural Tata Crucible quiz, with Rajiv D'Silva and Harshvardhan 'Hash' Bhatkuly making mincemeat of the competition to win the Regional Finals. Representing Savoir Faire, Rajiv and Hash, who were last year's national runners-up, finished with 85 points, while the second-placed team (from Synapse) ended on 30 points.
One other team from SEQC -the husband-wife team of Anjali and Aniruddha 'Annie' Sen Gupta, representing Splash! Communications -made it to the last six, while a third SEQC pair -that of Ameya Mardolkar and Vidyadhar Gadgil, also purportedly from Splash! Communications -lost out by a whisker.
The event, possibly Goa's first big national-level quizzing episode, was heralded by torrential rains. Some 20-25 teams braved the monsoon storms to troop wetly but hopefully into the beautiful shell-shaped auditorium at the National Institute of Oceanography. The 25 questions which made up the prelims were of a reasonably general nature, and gave the less business-inclined quizzers some hope of doing well.
Besides the SEQC two, the four other teams who made it to the final stage were from Synapse, HLL, Betts and Cajetan Vaz. The first round, one of general quizzing, saw some even competition, with several of the teams managing to get on the scoreboard. At the end of it, Rajiv and Hash were behind for the only time in the contest, not yet having scored. Annie and Anjali were fortunate to have an answer more or less thrust down their throat by the quizmaster, which got them their solitary points for the evening.
The second round -a buzzer-driven one on questions related to the Tatas -was where Savoir Faire really got going, with Hash and Rajiv gobbling up four of the five posers to get their team ahead. From there on, it was a one-team show, as the two of them steadily increased their lead, while the rest of the teams more or less joined the audience and watched in appreciation of this quizzing masterclass.
There were four other rounds -including one of audio-visual connections; one of code-busting, which involved identifying logos and people photos and then doing some word gymnastics; and one of multiple-clue questions, none of which progressed beyond the first clue.
At the end of the quiz, quizmaster Giri Balasubramaniam acknowledged the role of Rajiv and Hash in bringing the Tata Crucible to Goa, saying that it was largely the result of their excellent showing in previous editions -which they had to go to Pune to participate in -that drove the organisers to choose Panjim as one of the new venues this year.
So Savoir Faire, already richer by Rs 75,000, besides the DVD players and other bric-a-brac, is off to the National Finals, whose date and venue are yet to be announced. Wherever and whenever it happens, here's hoping they end this year's edition on a truly SEQC note.
One other team from SEQC -the husband-wife team of Anjali and Aniruddha 'Annie' Sen Gupta, representing Splash! Communications -made it to the last six, while a third SEQC pair -that of Ameya Mardolkar and Vidyadhar Gadgil, also purportedly from Splash! Communications -lost out by a whisker.
The event, possibly Goa's first big national-level quizzing episode, was heralded by torrential rains. Some 20-25 teams braved the monsoon storms to troop wetly but hopefully into the beautiful shell-shaped auditorium at the National Institute of Oceanography. The 25 questions which made up the prelims were of a reasonably general nature, and gave the less business-inclined quizzers some hope of doing well.
Besides the SEQC two, the four other teams who made it to the final stage were from Synapse, HLL, Betts and Cajetan Vaz. The first round, one of general quizzing, saw some even competition, with several of the teams managing to get on the scoreboard. At the end of it, Rajiv and Hash were behind for the only time in the contest, not yet having scored. Annie and Anjali were fortunate to have an answer more or less thrust down their throat by the quizmaster, which got them their solitary points for the evening.
The second round -a buzzer-driven one on questions related to the Tatas -was where Savoir Faire really got going, with Hash and Rajiv gobbling up four of the five posers to get their team ahead. From there on, it was a one-team show, as the two of them steadily increased their lead, while the rest of the teams more or less joined the audience and watched in appreciation of this quizzing masterclass.
There were four other rounds -including one of audio-visual connections; one of code-busting, which involved identifying logos and people photos and then doing some word gymnastics; and one of multiple-clue questions, none of which progressed beyond the first clue.
At the end of the quiz, quizmaster Giri Balasubramaniam acknowledged the role of Rajiv and Hash in bringing the Tata Crucible to Goa, saying that it was largely the result of their excellent showing in previous editions -which they had to go to Pune to participate in -that drove the organisers to choose Panjim as one of the new venues this year.
So Savoir Faire, already richer by Rs 75,000, besides the DVD players and other bric-a-brac, is off to the National Finals, whose date and venue are yet to be announced. Wherever and whenever it happens, here's hoping they end this year's edition on a truly SEQC note.
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